Hive
by Tale Spinner
Summary: A small group of vampire hunters infiltrate the Silent Cathedral and attempt to kill Zephon. R&R please. Updated.


Characters, setting and the concept of Legacy of Kain, Soul Reaver is a trademark of Eidos/Crystal Dynamics.

Setting is used here for story purposes only. Nothing more.

"This is it my friends, we have reached the secret entrance to the Cathedral." Terrek said to his three companions, excitedly, to which they nodded softly. Their lack of enthusiasm was because of the grim task ahead of them. Unlike their leader Terrek, who eagerly awaited to fulfill this mission, Arac, Remec and Wren didn't share their leader's zeal. They began recalling the formation of this task. Their task was greater than any vampire hunter had ever attempted. They had to infiltrate the lair of the Zephonim vampires, also called as 'Silent Cathedral' these days, which had been centuries earlier invaded by the Zephonim and killed its tending human occupants.

Their ultimate goal was to find and try to kill the leader of the Zephonim vampire's clan, Zephon. Several years earlier a massive attack was made against the fortress of clan Dumahim. Dumahim vampires weren't any match for a concentrated surprise attack of the vampire hunters. Althought their leader, vampire lord Dumah provided more resistance than his minions had, he had been eventually pinned to his own throne and left to rot there as a symbol of human's victory against the vampire race.

But taking down the Clan Leader of the Zephonim couldn't be done as easily as Dumah had been. First of all, Dumah's fortress had been easily accessible, while the Zephon's Cathedral was more tight and complex. The main entrance couldn't be breached. That left only the secret entrance to the Cathedral revealed by the journal of the only surviving priest who escaped the massacre by the way of the secret tunnel which the four vampire hunters had used to enter the Cathedral.

The existence of the passage didn't come to known until the last surviving priest who managed to escape from the invasion of the Cathedral had died. The book detailing every nook and cranny of the Cathedral along with a map was found from his possessions. Why the priest never hadn't revealed that book or told of the passage is not known.

Even after the book had been found, no attack plans were made for several centuries until the fall of Dumah's clan. After that the leaders of the human city began discussing the possibility to take down the next vampire lord. Zephon and his clan were the only ones which could be reached easily. Vampire lord Melchiach had sealed himself to his domain many years ago and hadn't been seen or heard since. His offsprings were seen wandering in their territory but never outside of it. Occasionally, few hunters would venture into the Melchiahim territory to decrease the number of the corpse defouling vampires. Maybe with luck, to find and kill the Melchiach himself too. Dumah's remaining and scattered minions didn't pose any threat, all of them would be hunted down eventually. Vampire lord Rahab and his brood had retreated to a cathedral further in the north and flooded it and the surrounding area. This area was now completely beyond the reach of humans so they had to leave it be. Vampire lord Turel's offspring had only been seen in a few isolated areas, most often in the area around the Lighthouse which was now under their control, and Turel himself hadn't been seen in a long time after he had mysteriously vanished several years ago.

Nor were traces found of the Razielim clan and their leader, Raziel. Records say that Raziel disappeared under mysterious circumstances several centuries ago and had not been seen or heard since. This might not have never come to known unless the Razielim clan hadn't disappeared without a trace during that same time period. Hunters haven't bothered to explore the ruins of Razielim clan territory anymore. What happened to this vampire clan isn't known, a major disappearance of the entire clan and its leader doesn't happen without a good reason. Maybe the Clan Lord decided to abandon Nosgoth with his brood altogether or they all have been killed in some internal feud of the vampires. We may never know the truth but it actually doesn't matter since it has led to the desired result on human's part. One clan less to harass them. If that clan had remained around, humans never would've managed to spread as far as they have or achieve the victory over Dumahim.

The vampire overlord, Kain, has also remained out of sight for several centuries. He isn't believed dead because one of the Clan Lords would've done something dramatical already, like assuming the leadership of the rest of the vampires.

So Zephon and his clan were the next target. Althought Dumah's defenses had been relatively unprepared and weak to stop the attack of humans, it wasn't healthy to assume that Zephon's lair could be so easily breached. In fact it couldn't be entered at all since the main door was sealed by an unknown force which resisted all attempts to open it, both physical and magical. Only the discovery of the priest's scroll gave any hope to enter the Cathedral without notice. The execution of the plan still took many years because the layout and map of the Cathedral was first studied thoroughly, so that the operation could be carried out without any mistakes and minimum casualities.

It was decided early on that a small team would be used because a large army wouldn't have any chance to fight properly in the cramped passages of the Cathedral and there was no telling how much the interior of the had been changed over the years which the vampires have held it. Although the whole campaign was planned on the priest's map, the hunters had no choice but improvise if they'd encounter a sealed/altered passage. A great army couldn't hope to spread itself throughout the Cathedral as fast as in the Dumah's fortress. Chances for ambush were much greater inside the Cathedral. A smaller force could enter without alerting the enemy and even possibly move inside with minimal detection risk.

A group of four hunters was chosen to the task, armed with flame throwers and crossbows. Terrek, a seasoned veteran among the hunters, was chosen to lead the team. He was given three novices, Arac, Remec, which both were brothers in blood, and Wren which had already gained some experience by hunting the remaining Dumahim. Terrek and Arac were equipped with flamethrowers while Remec and Wren were with crossbows. They would weaken the enemy from a distance and then the others would use their flamethrowers to finish the job.

Right now, standing on the threshold of the sealed passageway which had once served as an escape route for the priest, the four hunters were feeling good of their chances, despite their current situation. Since the passage had collapsed at the bottom of the spiral staircase they'd climbed, they had no obvious way to escape. But if they'd succeed in their mission, they wouldn't need to worry about it overmuch, since they believed once Zephon was dead, his brood wouldn't pose a significant threat anymore and exiting the Cathedral would be possible because the seal would undoubtedly dissolve after the death of the Clan Leader.

They sat at the secret entrance to the cathedral, catching their breath. After climbing the narrow spiral staircase which clearly had been made more for descending than ascending, the hunters were exhausted. They rested well because once inside the Cathedral, they'd had to be at their peak condition and fully alert.

"The door seems to be sealed," Arac said.

"Yes, it is," Terrek replied. "But the priest had made a detailed note about it in his journal. For the uninitiated, the door would remain locked, but there is a secret method to open it. It looks like any ordinary seal the Order uses, but the purpose of this seal is to prevent the door being opened from inside."

"So the priest made sure the vampires couldn't use this passage for any reason," Remec said.

"That is correct. The vampires probably never even knew of the passage because priest was the only one alive back then who knew of it's existence, but he clearly did not take any chances that they might find it, despite the entrance being almost oblivious to the naked eye inside the Cathedral," Terrek answered.

Then Wren voiced his own thoughts. "Even if the vampires had discovered the door and been unable to open it, they still might've prepared for anyone to come through it someday."

"That is the risk we unfortunately have to take," Terrek said. "We still might catch them by surprise despite that. But still, several centuries have passed since the Cathedral was invaded. I can only hope they have dismissed the thought of guarding the door, if they have found it, that is."

"Let's not wait any longer, then," Arac said.

Terrek turned towards the lock and began operating the switches attached to it. He made so many twists and turns that it became hard for others to follow the course of unlocking. That was purpose of it, no one watching the process couldn't memorize it by watching. After a while, the door opened slowly and creaking, struggling to get loose from the centuries of dirt and rust gathered in its hinges. Finally, door opened into a small room.

The air was dusty and dank, no human wouldn't live in an environment like this. Eerie silence hanged in the air, they could almost hear it. Place felt deader than a tomb. Since the air was very dry, breathing was more heavier than it had been in the tunnel which led to the cathedral. But the hunters soon adapted to the quality of air.

On the left wall was a carving of some lizard-like creature. There was another room ahead past a small upwards sloping ramp which ended to a door leading left and the wall around the door was surrounded with glass decoration. The door was locked so going that way was not an option. A smaller opening went right from the entrance, opening into a bigger room with a three meter drop. How high the ceiling was, it couldn't be seen from the doorway. A large metal pipe rose from the bottom of the room, and went upwards from below the entrance, hugging the wall like a snake. End of other pipe hanged in the middle of the room.

"Where are we?" Wren asked.

Terrek pulled out the map of the Cathedral from his pouch and checked their location. "We are roughly in the middle point of the Cathedral. From here, we need go one level up and after few twists, we will reach the staircase which reaches all the way to the top. Considering the layout of this place, it is assumed that the Clan Leader is located at the top. We head there first and if the vampire lord is not found there, we will go search the very bottom of this place."

"Considering that if we manage to kill the Clan Leader, what then? Do we search every nook and cranny of the Cathedral and eliminate the rest of the spider vampires? Together, we might be able to destroy the leader but not hunt them down in this place. They are more capable of ambush than the Dumahim were as I have read from the records," Remec said.

"Do not worry. It has all been planned. Once the leader is down, I shall touch a small sphere which is stored inside this metal box," Terrek said while pulling the box from his pouch. "Only my or your touch, in case I have fallen, alone breaks it so that the enemy cannot use it for their advantage if we fail," Terrek finished as he placed the box back into the pouch.

"What will it do?" Arac asked. "Teleports us away from this place?"

"Not quite. It will send a message to Zed and Jopin who are waiting in a cave just outside the Cathedral. They have a similiar sphere, once it breaks, one of them will go activate the Warp Gate located further in the cave and goes back to the Citadel to relay the news of Zephon's defeat to our superiors. He will bring fresh troops with him and they will begin their assault from the main door to the lower levels. Bringing persons through the gate who have not touched the other side is possible when the activator goes first, and same time our magician back in the Citadel will cast a spell which locks the activator's print on the threshold and keeps the Gate open long enough for necessary persons to go through. Meanwhile, we shall go find the Cathedral's Gate and activate it.

It is also located at the top. I shall go fetch another batch of hunters and once we are all here, we shall begin scouring this place from the top, eventually trapping the vampires in the middle. Every last one of the spider vampires will be rooted out and eliminated. After that, this place shall no longer be called 'Silent Cathedral'. It will belong to humans again and will be restored back to its original purpose, eliminination of the vampire race. Sounds deadly to vampires will be heard again." Terrek said, almost exhausted after his patriotic speech.

Before Terrek managed to catch his breath, a scratching sound emanated behind the hunters, they turned around to see the door to the secret staircase closing. The door shut with a loud thump and immediately a series of clicking sounds were heard behind the door as the locking system was reset.

"What happened? Did they discover us already?" Wren asked, alarmed.

"No," Terrek replied, calmly. "The safety measure of the door just activated. We are now effectively sealed inside the Cathedral."

"Why didn't you say it earlier? How are we supposed to get out now if something goes wrong," Wren asked, almost in panic.

"Basically, we can't. Other than this entrance, the Cathedral is inpregnable. Or it would not be if the Warp Gate at the top could be activated from outside. That is our only escape route if we manage to get there alive. Even if we fail, one who survives should attempt to reach the Gate and report what transpired so that a new plan can be made.

Otherwise, we or whoever of us survives, are stuck here. If the Gate is beyond our reach, only thing left to do then is to kill as many of the vampires as possible. Even if our mission fails, we must try to eliminate the vampire resistance as much as possible for the next attack. It might not come soon enough to be any good to us, but it will come."

"There is something that has been bothering me all the time," Remec said. "If the door can only be opened from outside, how did the priest open it from inside? If he was the only one who knew of its existence, he couldn't have sended somebody to open it, considering he was in a hurry to escape from the Cathedral."

"The priest knew a magical word to open it. It could only be used once though, after that the magic enabling to do it dissipated from the door," Terrek replied.

"Wonderful," Wren said somberly.

"Do not fret, Wren," Terrek said sternly. "For the greater good of mankind, our sacrifice is acceptable. Our leaders agreed in the planning stage that the gamble is worth the risk. Risk is very high but the reward more than compensates it.

Besides, we could not have used the passage for the return trip anyway because of the collapse. You saw how unstable the tunnel was as we went through it. The echoes of our journey probably shook the delicate balance the tunnel still held. Before you can ask, no one is going to clear the tunnel for us or anybody else. Tunnel could collapse altogether if heavier instruments are used. I am only surprised it had not collapsed long ago."

For a while, no one spoke. Then, Arac noticed something. "Hey, what's that wheel on the door?"

Terrek dug out the priest's journal and began searching it for an answer. After a moment, he found it.

"It does not open the secret door as you might have suspected, instead it opens that part of the wall with the lizard carving. It leads to the central shaft of the Cathedral, there is no need to open it yet since there are no pathways to upstairs. That is our only open route," Terrek said as he pointed the room with the pipe.

"Then let's not waste time any further," Arac said.

"You are right, Arac. Time to start fulfilling our mission," Terrek replied.

As the hunters prepared to move on, a solitary figure watched them behind the corner of the adjacent room. This person was a vampire worshipper, member of a sect of vicious humans who worshipped the vampires as their gods and sacrificed other humans to them without remorse. He had entered quietly into the room by the now-unlocked wooden door just after the secret door had closed. He listened patiently as the hunters cleared their situation and purpose to him inadvertedly and quite conveniently.

He knew he had to stop them, or at least slow them down before one of the children of the Great One would arrive. He drew his sacrificial knife from his belt and prepared to attack, he had no time to wait for his fellow Adepts to join him. He hoped they would get here in time.

As the hunters neared the doorway to the pipe room, the worshipper began slowly and cautiously to approach them. One with a crossbow who seemed to be more cowardly of them was behind the others. Worshipper was almost behind Wren, only a few steps more when Wren began moving nervously. Worshipper didn't waste a single breath but charged the last remaining steps and stabbed quickly with lethal precision under Wren's left armpit because it was only the vulnerable spot in the hunter's armor. "For Zephon," fanatic yelled as the knife hit home. As the fanatic stabbed the hunter, he threw his other arm around Wren's throat and pulled the hunter against him as a shield. All this happened in a heartbeat before the other hunters had managed to react.

"Drop your weapons, infidels," the fanatic snarled. "Or your miserable excuse of a comrade will die where he stands."

Hatred was clearly displayed in the eyes of the hunters for this miserable traitor of their own kind.

"We do no such thing, maggot," Terrek spat. "It is you who shall drop your weapon and release our companion if you want to live."

"I don't think so. I can kill your friend with one swift stroke." Hunters noticed that the fanatic hadn't removed his blade from under Wren's armpit. To make his point, he twisted the knife inside Wren's armpit. The pain was so excruciating that Wren barely made a sound, only his mouth gasped like a fish on dry land.

"With one quick thrust, I can plunge my blade into his heart. Our knives are very sharp, like the fangs of our gods," the fanatic said, beaming with pride.

"Never," Wren screamed as he gave a firm headbutt to the fanatic, breaking his nose. Before the fanatic could recover from the blow, Wren pushed back with all his strength and felled them both, with Wren ending lying on top of the fanatic.

Wren's companions immediately bolted forward and seized the fanatic before he could do anything. Terrek pulled Wren away from the fanatic while Arac and Remec held him.

"Are you all right, Wren," Terrek asked.

"Yes, other than my left arm feeling numb. But I'm afraid I won't be any use to you. I can't operate the crossbow properly with only one arm. "

"Nonsense. You can provide backup support with best of your ability. There is no need to waste your talents."

"I wish that were true, but even after the dagger is removed and my wound bandaged, I'll be a burden. The wound will be as good as open to their noses, despite the binding. As you well know, these things can smell blood far away. Risk of detection becomes too high. I can't allow that to jeopardize our mission. You'll have greater chances of success without me."

For a moment, Terrek was quiet. Arac and Remec patiently waited their leader's response while they held the squirming fanatic pinned on the floor. Finally, Terrek spoke.

"As much as I hate to say it, you have a point. Other than this vermin here we have managed to avoid detection from vampires so far. If we want to keep it that way as long as possible, you have to stay behind."

"That's what I thought. Now, could you remove this blade from me?"

Terrek took hold of Wren's shoulder and began carefully pulling the blade away. It came out surprisingly easy for such a wicked blade. Then he took out some bandages and covered Wren's wound. Finally he gave a small potion to Wren which would kill the pain.

"The fanatic did not boast when he said he could push this all the way into your heart," Terrek said as he studied the fanatic's sacrificial blade.

"We don't need to boast, we just state the fact," fanatic replied defiantly.

"If I wanted to hear your opinion I would have asked it, maggot," Terrek spat to the fanatic. "Since you have hampered the condition of my companion and hindered our mission, you shall have your just reward."

Then Terrek plunged the blade right into the fanatic's chest. The fanatic gasped briefly but otherwise didn't utter a sound. Just grinned like an idiot and stared maniacally at Terrek. After a moment, he was dead.

Arac and Wren released the fanatic's hands and stood up. Terrek addressed them.

"Are you ready to move?"

"Just say the word," brothers replied in unison.

"Can you manage, Wren?" Remec asked.

"I think I can. I'll just take a comfortable position against the secret door so I can see in all directions. At least I know nobody's coming from there. I won't be surprised again", Wren said as he hefted his crossbow. "Besides, I have the charming presense of our resident fanatic to keep me company," Wren said dryly.

Arac and Remec smirked slightly, Terrek just stared the body for a moment then turned around.

"Once we complete our mission, both of you return here as fast as you can to cover Wren while I go back to the Citadel to fetch reinforcements."

Both nodded in reply.

"All right then, let us move on."

Hunters began their ascent along the pipe which circled the wall upwards. As they began ascending, they noticed a spider vampire in the bottom of the room. They wondered briefly why it hadn't attacked already, considering there was a smell of fresh blood nearby. Arac and Remec nearly considered eliminating it when Terrek said to them that this vampire was different from others. He told them to observe the blue sparkling floating around its head. He said that this kind of vampire sucked the life energies of its victim instead of blood. How those vampires had come into existence, he didn't know. That's why it probably hadn't attacked already because blood was no longer a part of its meal, so it was probably safe to assume that it couldn't smell the blood anymore either. Vampire was clearly watching their every move but didn't make any threatening moves at all. Arac had a bad feeling about the apparent calmness of the vampire but couldn't do nothing about since it didn't act otherwise hostile.

Hunters continued further, trying their best not to pay attention to the remains of web wrapped victims sticked to the wall. Soon they reached the entrance to the next floor which was situated right above the doorway to the previous level. The pipe continued along the floor in the passageway ahead so the hunters jumped down from the pipe and continued following the passage on floor.

As soon as the hunters had appeared into the vampire's sight, it sended a mental message to its master, Zephon, who was at the top of the Cathedral.

"Master, vampire hunters from the human Citadel have breached the hive."

"How is that possible? This place is completely blocked against their kind." Zephon replied in frustration.

Vampire minion couldn't help feeling the slight trembling when it heard its master's displeased voice.

"I heard a door opening in the room above me. Soon I heard the sounds of humans talking about a secret passage which they had used to enter."

"Why did not you tell me this sooner?" Zephon demanded.

"I wanted to find out what they were attempting first, master. They talked for a moment about their mission. They are planning to kill you, my master, and then summon more of their kind to eliminate us all."

For a moment no reply came. Then Zephon's voice returned.

"How many of them are inside?"

"Only four. But only three of them are passing above me right now. The fourth one is still in the room."

"Why?"

"One of our human worshippers managed to attack and wound one of them. Wounded one was forced to stay behind because of his bleeding wound. They killed the worshipper."

"Are more of them to be expected?"

"No, they said that the passage they used to enter has collapsed and there is no possibility to open it from outside. But if they reach the Warp Gate near you, then more are to be expected, master."

"You have done well, my child. Stay where you are, I will send an other child to deal with the wounded one."

"Yes, master, and thank you."

Zephon sended a mental call to another vampire who had also been long ago trapped in the spectral realm. While he waited his child to come, Zephon pondered the situation. For the first time, humans had managed to breach into his hive from a secret passage which had remained unnoticed from him and his children when they had first invaded this Cathedral centuries ago. Now it could spell his doom. He could not take any chances. He had to put some security measures into action.

"You called me, master?" Came a mental inquiry from a vampire who had just emerged from a small doorway left from Zephon's point of view.

"Yes, I have a task for you," Zephon replied mentally. Then Zephon concentrated for a moment. Quite soon a small egg emerged from beneath Zephon. Unlike the eggs he usually laid, this one was sickly green in color.

"Take this egg to the bottom of the staircase leading here and cast it on the floor. The entrance accessible by humans will then be sealed against intrusions." Zephon relayed the command to his minion.

"Yes, master." The soul vampire replied and scooped up the egg. Then it immediately exited to the passage opposite the one it had entered from.

After few twists and turns, hunters came to an intersection. Path continued forward as usual and it also branched left into a larger room. Terrek ordered Arac check out the room at the end of the passage before proceeding to the larger room. Terrek knew it led to a dead end but he wanted to make sure there weren't any nasty surprises planning to follow them. Arac returned almost immediately telling that the room at the end of the path was, other than a pile of debris, empty.

"This way my friends." Terrek pointed towards the other path. "After we pass this room and proceed down the hall, we will reach the airshaft and the staircase to the top."

After a minute of careful advancing, hunters reached the airshaft and the bottom the stairs.

"What are those?" Remec asked as he pointed the four levers on the middle of the floor.

"According to the journal, these would activate the fans in the shaft. There are no mentions about the glass which is covering them, however," Terrek replied.

Remec first tried to kick them but nothing happened, then with the butt of his crossbow, with same result. Arac tried flaming them but the glass-like cover didn't even blacken.

"Whatever that stuff is, it's stronger than anything I have encountered, " Arac said.

"Even if we had managed to break them, it would not have made any difference since the steam engines are turned off. We would have to go all the way to the bottom if we wanted to turn them on. Which is not relevant right now," Terrek replied.

"What's over there?" Remec asked, pointing at the gate opposite the shaft entrance.

"That just leads to the steam and sound regulators. Currently useless due the steam being off." Terrek said after checking the journal.

"Shall we continue?" Arac asked.

"Of course. We have a Clan Leader to kill." Terrek replied.

Hunters managed to take few steps on the stairs when they heard a hissing sound above them. Looking up, they saw a spider vampire attached to the ceiling. Before Remec managed to bring his crossbow to bear, the spider threw something at them. "Take cover," Terrek shouted as he threw himself flat on the stairs. Arac and Remec both jumped back instinctively.

The pod hit the stair and erupted immediately, spreading a thick, slimy web wall which extended all the way to the ceiling and the walls. In a matter of seconds the slime thickened and hardened around the web like a plaster into a solid, impenetrable wall.

The pain which the blade had caused had subsided from Wren's armpit, but the painkiller had one unfortunate side-effect. It made the drinker extremely weary after the pain was removed. In the situation which Wren was in, it wasn't a very healthy prospect. And his breathing had become more shallower each moment. As he coughed blood, he figured that the fanatic must have managed to rupture one of his lungs. Great, he thought. If the vampires don't manage to kill me first, the internal bleeding does. Why didn't they outfit us with healing potions?

As Wren pondered this, he began hearing a scratching sound nearby, like a claw being scraped against stone. Wren quickly hefted his crossbow ready, alert for intruders. Pretty soon a spider vampire emerged from the doorway his comrades had exited earlier. Wren quickly aimed his crossbow and fired, but unfortunately the bolt only struck the vampire in the ribs instead of chest because Wren was forced to shoot with only one arm which hampered his aim even when he had supported the crossbow against his side when he sat.

The vampire screamed from the bolt's impact and began pulling the bolt out while Wren desperately fitted a new bolt. Vampire hadn't gotten the bolt out yet because it was stuck deep so Wren had ample time to reload the crossbow and take aim. Vampire was still struggling with the bolt and didn't see the danger it was in. Shooting the vampire was now easier because its attention was elsewhere and it didn't move from where it stood. Just as Wren was about to fire, he caught a movement from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head towards the adjacent room and saw two vampire worshippers standing at the threshold.

They hadn't made any move towards Wren, just stared blankly at him. Wren quickly considered his options. He could shoot the vampire but then it's slaves would undoubtedly attack and slay him. He could try shooting another of them and try his luck with the other one, but by then the vampire would have removed the bolt and healed its wound and would attack him. As Wren's mind raced, he suddenly noticed that the vampire had just removed the bolt and was waiting for its bleeding side to heal. Wren concluded that the vampire would be the bigger threat and lifted the crossbow to fire.

Just as he was about to fire, a knife flew into his wrist from one of the worshippers. Wren screamed from the pain and his crossbow fell on the floor with a clatter. The blade had come through his wrist, leaving the knife caught halfway in his wrist. Wren tried to remove the knife but when he saw the worshippers approaching, he tried to reach the crossbow with his left arm. As he got his hand around it, a spider's claw impaled the crossbow to the floor.

Wren looked up to see the spider vampire's head looking down at him with murder in its eyes. Wren didn't even flinch, just stared back defiantly. The two worshippers reached the spider and bowed to it.

"What is your wish, sacred one?" One of them asked in a whispering tone.

The vampire motioned with its arm towards the hunter, indicating them to hold him in place. Worshippers obliged and seized Wren's both hands. Then the vampire approached the body of the dead fanatic, it studied the body for a moment, then struck its teeth into the body's neck and began sucking. After a moment, it finished drinking. Then it began making webbing around the body with a skill of a master weaver. As Wren watched this operation, it began dawning to him what his fate would be.

After the vampire had finished wrapping the body, it turned towards Wren. Wren gritted his teeth together, not intending to give the vampire the delight of seeing him afraid. When the vampire bit him in the neck, at first it sucked a small dose of blood from him, but stopped very quickly. Almost in a second Wren felt something being injected into him. In a matter of moments his whole body went rigid, like he was paralyzed. His eyes had remained open however. One of the worshippers removed the blade from Wren's wrist, not paying any attention to his bleeding wrist.

Then the vampire began wrapping Wren as well until he was wholly covered like the body had been. Then the vampire grabbed both the body and Wren in its arms and left the room by the way it came and then began climbing towards the ceiling with its cargo. When it reached the roof, it entered into small crevice which took it to somewhere else in the Cathedral. There it attached both the body of the worshipper and Wren to the ceiling with a sticky web which would not break and drop them down. Then it returned to guard the pipe room from the ceiling.

Little while later, feeling began returning to Wren's body. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break the web around him. His mind was screaming the most foulest and darkest curses ever known to man, damning all vampires into eternal torment for their unholy existence.

Arac and Remec blinked their eyes in surprise of what just happened. Moment ago they had seen the stairway leading up. Now it was covered by a thick wall of web with their leader behind it. They had no time to wonder it too long when the vampire who had created this wall jumped in front of them. It made a pass at Remec, it missed but that didn't matter. It had gotten close enough to start sucking the life energies from Remec. Remec shuddered because of his energies flowing away from him. Arac quickly used the flamethrower at the vampire but it was too quick and escaped from the flames. But its evasion cost it losing the contact with Remec who almost fell if Arac hadn't caught him.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, just feeling a little dizzy. What did it do to me?

"It seemed to be sucking your life force. Remember what Terrek said about those types of vampires," Arac said as he pointed the vampire. They both saw the glowing blue energy around its head.

"We have to get to Terrek," Arac said.

"I'd love to, dear brother. But in this condition I can barely hold my crossbow. Your flamethrowing gave us breathing space since the vampire ain't approaching. But I still have a feeling it won't let us pass without a fight. As much as I hate to say it, Terrek must try to handle the mission on his own. We should retreat to a more defensible position so I can recover and then deal with that vampire without any further harm to us."

Arac was torn for a moment between his brother's dilemma and their leader's fate. But in the end his brother's more immediate urgency won.

"I agree. In this place it could maneuver our shots too easily and take one of us down with a surprise attack. Let's fall back. I'll support you."

Remec leaned on his brother's shoulder as they began retreating. The vampire began immediately following them but stayed far enough not to get shot with flames again. When they reached the junction, Remec said they should go to the dead end because he was still too weak to go down along the pipes, he might fall despite his brother's support. Arac agreed and they continued to the dead end.

When they reached the room, the vampire tried to rush them but Arac quickly pressed the trigger of his thrower. The vampire reared just in time on its hind legs to avoid being burned. Remec tried shooting it with a bolt but he was still too weak and the bolt just missed the vampire's head. Realizing it couldn't get close to the humans without suffering serious damage, it retreated from the room but stayed just behind the corner of the room's entrance.

"Do you see it?" Remec asked.

"No, but I know it's still there," Arac replied.

Arac quickly scanned the room for any other exits.

"Remec, can you climb?" Remec nodded in reply. "Good, climb on top of that ledge and see if there are any holes or crevices those things could get through."

Remec got to the ledge quite easily, despite his weakened condition. After he had walked it from one end to another, he turned towards his brother.

"No holes or crevices. Walls are completely intact. That is the only entrance to this room. And by the way, when I walked to the far right corner I could just barely see the vampire behind the corner. But not enough to shoot it."

"Very well then. At least this room is defensible. You better stay up there. You can use your crossbow more effectively from there."

"All right, my brother. By the way, try to start a small campfire about halfway between the pile and the doorway. That might be a useful barrier between you and the vampire if it decides to attack. There seems to be plenty of dry wood in this pile around you. They should last quite a while."

"Good idea, keep watch while I'll gather some wood." Arac said.

Few minutes later, Arac had a small campfire going with the help of his flamethrower. The vampire hadn't tried to interrupt the process.

"I wonder how long it's going to wait there?" Remec asked.

"I can't say. Considering these things don't tire, too long for us if it doesn't become too hungry first and try to attack us," Arac replied. "I can only hope Wren is all right. Hopefully he can recover soon he could surprise that thing from behind."

"There might be a chance they've caught him already. We can only hope that Terrek succeeds, or we'll be here far longer than originally intended," Remec said.

Terrek stood up and gazed his surroundings. It was pitch black but it didn't matter since his helmet, like all other vampire hunter's, was enchanted to adjust to the light of their environment. Pretty soon Terrek saw his immediate surroundings like he would've seen in full daylight. Walls looked the same they had earlier, stairs continued further up and the way back was blocked by a thick, web wall. Terrek tried burning it, without any success, it was scorched slightly but Terrek realized it would drain his flamethrower if he tried to burn a hole in the wall. He had no choice but to continue since he noticed that Arac and Remec weren't with him, neither was the vampire. His companions were apparently fighting with this thing right now, he hoped they could take it down soon so they could try to take down this wall and rejoin him.

Unfortunately, Terrek knew he had not time to wait for them. Vampires clearly knew of them by now and if he waited here, more would be coming eventually. He had to reach the Clan Leader, all would depend on that. With grim determination, Terrek hefted his trusty flamethrower (flamethrower was Terrek's favorite weapon because he felt he was burning the vampires with 'righteous fire') and began climbing the stairs.

After climbing for about five minutes, he reached a small chamber with several small passageways. For a moment Terrek was at loss because these tunnels weren't in the original architecture. The vampires had created these over the old ones. Then he noticed one of the passages went upwards while others went either downwards or remained level. Terrek decided to try the one going up.

Several minutes passed as he ascended the tunnel because its structuring wasn't made for his feet and he almost loosed his footing few times. Finally, he saw a slightly more brighter light ahead. The tunnel opened into a large room with similar tunnel at the other side and larger exit right between them. Terrek somehow felt he was at the top although he didn't recognize his surroundings because of the thick webbing everywhere. He stepped further into the room and immediately the doorway behind him sealed itself, same happened with the one opposite it.

Terrek raised his flamethrower and scanned the room for enemies but none appeared. Soon he noticed something moving further in the chamber. Terrek began carefully approaching the movement and he didn't get far when he saw something that made him question his sanity that he had ever dared to even think about this place, let alone set his foot here.

In front of him against the wall was a monstrosity from the most worst nightmares ever imaginable. It's structuring was insect-like, but it hardly resembled the spider vampires he had seen so far. It had no visible legs so apparently it couldn't move. It had limbs similar to the spider vampires but its head certainly didn't resemble anything seen so far. Could this thing be Zephon, Clan Leader of the Zephonim vampires?

Then the monster leaned forward slightly and Terrek heard its gruesome voice.

"So, the human has arrived. I must admit I am impressed that you have managed to reach my sanctum. You are the first human, in fact, who has arrived here of his own free will," Zephon said.

"You knew I was coming?" Terrek asked, genuiely surprised.

"Of course, my child informed me that one of you had gotten to the other side of the wall I ordered to be raised for the purpose of preventing you to enter."

"What have you done with my comrades?" Terrek demanded.

"Currently, one of them who was wounded when you intruded into my hive, is now in the food stores. Ones who were with you are now pinned like rats in a room with no escape. That leaves only you, morsel, who has voluntarily walked into my presense."

"So you are the leader of these spider vampires, Zephon." Terrek replied. "You do not match the description we have of you."

"Who do you think I was. I cannot help that your records are centuries old. You see, we vampires evolve over time, and have physically become more closer the divinity we are in spirit." Zephon said haughtily.

"You are no gods, you are just parasites the whole lot of you who must be purged from the existence so that the Nosgoth can live again. And the purging shall begin with you!" Terrek bellowed, raising his flamethrower.

"This will be interesting. I have not had the pleasure of fighting for my food in a long time. Come little human, provide me some sport," Zephon said with pure pleasure.

Zephon reached with his talons but Terrek managed to dodge them. Then Terrek used his flamethrower against Zephon. Zephon backed up immediately but at the same struck with his other talons which hanged from the ceiling. Terrek lost his balance for a moment and that was enough for Zephon. He grapped Terrek in his clutches and held him tight.

"I am very disappointed. Is this how the hope of humans fight? I expected better from you. Oh well, my expectations never were high of the cattle anyway."

Then Zephon opened the remainer of his mutated face momentarily to scream to Terrek and Terrek saw the horrifying true face of Zephon. He nearly froze from the shock.

"Now, it's time to feed," Zephon said.

Zephon plunged his talon through Terrek's abdomen without harming anything vital, yet. Terrek screamed and Zephon was clearly pleased of the result.

"It is pleasing to hear you are good at least in that. We shall see how your companions will fare when they are brought to me."

Zephon prepared to plunge another talon through Terrek. But Terrek managed to summon all his remaining powers and made a desperate act.

"Never!" Terrek screamed as he managed to lift the flamethrower and pull the trigger. "Burn you foul abomination, burn!"

In such a close range, Zephon couldn't hope to evade the flame and it hit him straight to the face. Zephon screamed and simultaneously tore Terrek in half and threw his both halves as far as he could. They landed at the threshold of the entrance to his sanctum.

Zephon disappeared for a second and when he returned, the flames had disappeared from his charred face. Fortunately the face was already beginning to heal.

"Cursed human. No one has ever done something like that to me, no one!" Zephon raged to the empty room. He saw the both halves of the human at the threshold, torso just inside the chamber. A small flame was burning from the flamethrower, apparently the human's finger had remained around the trigger and it provided the small flame.

"Now I have to summon someone to clean up that mess. I cannot bear to watch that flame in my sanctum which dared to burn my face. But first, I must recover and let my face fully heal. I cannot allow my children to see me in this state." Then Zephon curled down and placed himself into a recovery state.

He had barely began to recover when he felt a tug in his mind which he never thought he would feel. Something had just dissipated the seal on the Cathedral's main entrance. Kain himself had placed that seal on the door using his own magic and the Soul Reaver. Kain had said that no power in Nosgoth, except the Reaver, can break the seal. But the seal had just been broken, it could only mean that Kain had fallen and the Reaver was now in someone else's possession. Or Kain had just lost it in a fight or… he has deliberately given it to someone who seeks to destroy me. No matter, someone of power is coming. Partially I hope that whoever it is will reach me because I want to beat somebody, anybody for this humiliation. But first, I will recover so I will be ready to face this new intruder.


End file.
